Sanity
by Chloe Silvers
Summary: Maxwell Lord makes Chloe believe that the entirety of her life is a delusion. Time- after Hostage, prior to Salvation.    "We're not crazy."    -Chloe Sullivan, Labyrinth
1. Chapter 1

Summary: Maxwell Lord makes Chloe believe that the entirety of her life is a delusion.  
Time-line: Shortly after Hostage, but prior to Salvation

Basis of the fic: "We're not crazy." (Quote by Chloe Sullivan in Labyrinth)

Chapter One

Chloe was working at the Watchtower, trying to restore it to its former glory when Oliver walked in with two bags in hand. She hadn't noticed that he was there, and continued to type on a computer.

She knew that she had made the right decision to melt Watchtower's database. She knew that her life came first. But she hated that each individual program from the database had to be recreated. It was tedious work, and she hated the idea of a Kandorian attack without the full capacity of the database available.

Suddenly, a plate landed in front of her. Sesame Chicken.

She turned around, and saw Oliver. "I think that's enough work for now", he said, smiling.

"I wish, but no. I have to restore this database."

She turned her attention back to the computer she was working on, but Oliver grabbed her shoulders and spun her around. "2 hours. It can wait 2 hours."

"The Kandorians- I can't find them anywhere. They can attack at any given moment. This can't wait 2 seconds."

"2 hours, and I'll even let you take use a laptop on the couch."

She thought about his offer for a moment. She could do a bit of work from the couch, and still eat. She hadn't seen Oliver in a week- he was in Star City getting surgery to cover up the scar on his chest.

The scar. Zod. If Clark didn't do anything, she was going to take one of her Kryptonite knives and kill that son of a bitch herself.

She turned around to mask her anger, and grabbed the plate. "Deal."

"Good", he said before taking the plate and setting it on a nearby table. "Now, can I get a proper welcome back?"

Her eyes flickered to where she knew the scar was.

"You're not going to hurt me, Chloe." He told her

She knew that, and she knew she was just being paranoid. But she didn't want him to see that. She kissed him gently before grabbing the plate next to him and walking over to the couch. Now, time to grab that laptop.

"You're sure lunch hasn't been cooked in peanut oil?" She called out as she reached in her bag for the charger

She turned around, suddenly feeling incredibly dizzy. What was going on? She tried to grip the table so that she could steady herself, but she wasn't fast enough. She fell down, and all she saw was darkness.


	2. Chapter 2

Summary: Maxwell Lord makes Chloe believe that the entirety of her life is a delusion.  
Time-line: Shortly after Hostage, but prior to Salvation

Basis of the fic: "We're not crazy." (Quote by Chloe Sullivan in Labyrinth)

Chapter Two

She woke up, and saw all white. Where was she? What was going on?

"Miss Sullivan, you're finally awake."

Who was that? Miss Sullivan? Nobody had called her that in a long time.

She sat up, and groaned in pain. Headache. Major headache. "What happened?" she croaked

"You started a fight with another patient. We had to drug you."

She looked around. The walls were white, very white. She looked into the distance. Was she…in the Luthor mansion?

"What am I doing at the mansion?" she asked

The doctor chuckled. "The hospital, you mean. Why, Chloe, it's your home."

"Who are you?" she asked

"I'm a new doctor here. Dr. Richards."

She stood up. This was a meta-human. She was sure of it. This was all some sort of trick. "What did you do to me? Where's Oliver?"

"Oliver?" the man asked before he flipped through a thick file "There's no mentioning of any Oliver here. Not during one-on-one therapy, and not throughout your group therapy. Who is Oliver, Chloe?" he asked gently

This man thought that she was insane. Group therapy, one-on-one sessions- what was this?

"Never mind. Just get my clothes, will you?"

"Whatever for?"

"You can't keep me here. I'm out." She told the man "If I checked myself in, I can check myself out."

The man reached into his coat and took out a flashlight before keeping her head still and flashing a bright light into her eyes. "Stop that", she said.

"Your vitals seem normal, but you appear to have some memory loss."

"Yeah? Well, you seem to be out of your mind. So why don't you fill me in on what's going on, here?"

"Do you remember your name?" he asked

"Chloe Sullivan", she answered immediately.

"Good. You are 24 years old, and you live in Smallville, Kansas. You attended Smallville High, where you isolated yourself in an empty newsroom. You thought up conspiracy theories, where you believed that your best friend Clark had supernatural abilities."

Dr. Richards started pacing around the room slowly as he continued.

"You were a fairly popular young woman, Miss Sullivan. Valedictorian, prom queen- everybody had high expectations from you. The pressure was too much for you. You started thinking up ideas about meteor freaks that were out to get you. When you graduated, you started an internship at the Daily Planet."

Chloe restrained the urge to punch this man in the face. "Then, what happened?" she asked, tight-lipped

"That was when your editor started to think that something had gone wrong. You started bringing him stories about so-called meta-humans. You said that they were humans with naturally born abilities. He suggested a psych evaluation, and thank goodness you went along with it, if only to prove him wrong."

"What did it say?"

"You have a very serious case of schizophrenia. When your editor suggested treatment, you made up a very ludicrous story, saying that you caught him making out with your cousin. That he was doing it all to save himself. It was a delusion. That was when he went through with the lawsuit. You were stated legally incompetent due to mental illness."

She sat back down on the bed, attempting to digest all of this. This man thought that she was insane. How could any of this be true?

"Schizophrenia?" she asked softly

Dr. Richards nodded. "It's a genetic mental disorder."

"I know what it is", she snapped.

"Then you know very well that your mother suffered from the same disorder. It took her awhile too, but she accepted treatment. She's cured."

She didn't care if this man was flat out crazy. If her mother was supposedly cured, then that meant that Chloe could speak to her. "Could I see her?" she asked

"I thought you might want to see her. I gave her a call, and she's waiting to talk to you. But you have to stay in bed."

Chloe nodded. "I promise." She would play along with this man's games. All she needed to do was trick him long enough for him to let her out of this place. And if that meant lying about the meteor infected, then that was fine. But she wanted her mother to tell her the truth herself. She wanted to hear her mother speak again.

The door opened, and Moira Sullivan walked inside. She looked so real as she sat beside her. Her mother felt real when she reached over and held Chloe's hand.

"Mom?" she asked

Her mother just smiled at her. "Say something", she begged.

But she didn't. Moira Sullivan didn't say a word.

None of this was real. If this was real, she would be able to talk. Chloe shot up from the bed. "Get away from me", she said sternly.

Dr. Richards hurried into the room. "Chloe, what's wrong? Your mother's here."

"Why isn't she saying anything?" she cried

"Your mother has been mute for the past year. A side effect of the brain surgery."

"My mother would never agree to that surgery, if she knew the risks. You're just trying to confuse me."

"Chloe, we're all just trying to help you. Just let us help you."

"No!"

She dashed out of the room, and tried to get out of the mansion, but the entrance that she knew was missing. Where was the door? It couldn't have just disappeared out of thin air.

She needed to leave through the back. She was on her way, when she spotted a red head of hair. "Tess?" she asked

The woman turned around, and gave her a dirty look. "You want to go for another round, bitch?"

She fought Tess again? She opened her mouth to respond, but she felt a sting of pain from her neck. Someone had injected her with something.

Her eyes rolled to the back of her head, and she fell limp in a doctor's arms.


	3. Chapter 3

Summary: Maxwell Lord makes Chloe believe that the entirety of her life is a delusion.  
Time-line: Shortly after Hostage, but prior to Salvation

Basis of the fic: "We're not crazy." (Quote by Chloe Sullivan in Labyrinth)

Chapter Three

She woke up, and immediately struggled to get free. But she couldn't.

Chloe Sullivan was in a straitjacket. "I don't belong here", she pleaded with Dr. Richards. "Just let me go."

"I wish that were true", he said. "But I took an oath to do no harm. And that means protecting you from yourself."

"You don't know me." She said simply

She suddenly heard Oliver's voice in her head as a memory replayed. "I can't expect him to know me like you do."

Her eyes closed for a moment, and she smiled.

"What happened?"

Chloe opened her eyes, and saw Dr. Richards in front of her. She scowled at the sight of him. "Nothing."

"It's time for your therapy session", he told her. "Only one-on-one today. Looks like I'll be getting to know you better."

He took out a wheelchair, and motioned towards it. "I can walk, thank you."

"Humor me."

She let out a sigh and got in the wheelchair. An intern opened the door and she was wheeled out.

This was the first time she saw the place actively during the day. And there were too many recognizable faces in a corner, painting.

They were old meteor-infected students from her high school. All of them. And she suddenly felt very afraid. These people all had the ability to kill her, but they were smiling at her as she wheeled past.

Jodi Melville was painting, and waved as she wheeled past. She remembered this woman almost eating Pete alive.

Earl Jenkins was there too. Chloe examined him closely- she remembered this man keeping her hostage. But here he was, clear as day by the blocks. His hands were steady, and he seemed at peace with himself.

How could this be the case? These people were all dead, or in Belle Reve. And if Tess was here, then she couldn't possibly be in Belle Reve. What kind of sick joke was this?

She was wheeled over to Dr. Richards' office, and she waited impatiently as the Doctor walked over to his side of the desk. "So Chloe, tell me about yourself."

"I thought that I had slight memory loss."

"Slight, but you still remember the important facts, don't you?"

She shook her head. This was all a trap. "I don't think so."

"Patient-doctor confidentiality, Chloe. Whatever you tell me stays between us."

"I don't trust people easily."

"Oh, I know that. But when you trust, you trust completely, don't you?"

"What are you talking about?" she asked

He flipped open her file, and pulled out a couple of pictures. She grabbed them. Clark and Lana.

"How did you get these?"

"They sent them to me the day you were admitted. They have no idea who you are, Chloe. But they feel complimented, and send their regards."

Clark and Lana had no idea who she was. If this wasn't real, then there would be no Kryptonite keeping them apart. "Are they together?" she asked

"They've never met each other."

This was all bullshit. "What about high school? They were my best friends in high school."

"They were from different groups. Lana was a cheerleader for 4 years, and Clark was a bit of a loner."

"That would make sense. He was always very secretive."

"Oh, you mean about his kryptonian heritage?" he asked

"How do you know about that?" she demanded

"Because you told your previous doctors, Chloe. It's all here: meta-humans, Krypton, Clark Kent, Black Thursday, Zod, Brainiac. And none of them are real."

"What about the people that I work with?"

"The Isis Foundation, created by Miss Lang. It doesn't exist. And the people that you've met? They don't exist."

"Who have I mentioned?" she asked

He showed her a couple pieces of paper. Sketches, that's all they were. Created well beyond her own artistic ability, but they were there. Bart, Victor, AC, Dinah, they were all there. But Oliver wasn't.

"And this is all I told you about?" If this was real, then why didn't she ever mention Oliver?

"Yes, this is all you said. Have there been more delusions?"

She stared at the pictures. Oliver wasn't in any of them. Had he been real at all?

What they had was real. She knew it. And it was something that pictures and sketches couldn't display.

"No", she said softly. "No more delusions."

"I don't understand why you are afraid of progress, Chloe. This is a good thing."

This wasn't progress. This was ridiculousness. "Who is the head of Luthorcorp?" she asked

"Lex Luthor."

"Lex is alive? Is Lionel alive?"

"Lionel Luthor has been dead for 10 years. You were a child when it happened, I know. But my files indicate that you grew up in Metropolis before you moved to Smallville. Mr. Luthor was an icon in Metropolis- it's understandable that his death impacted you."

"How did he die?" she interrupted

"Excuse me?"

"Lionel Luthor. How did he die?"

"He had a heart attack. His position was very stressful."

So Lex didn't kill him, Oliver didn't exist, and the team were delusions. This was ridiculous.

"Where's Lois?" she asked "She never would have let anybody do this to me."

"Ah, the infamous Lois Lane. You believe her to be the closest thing that you have to a sister, but your delusions couldn't be more wrong. The two of you haven't spoken in years."

She tried not to feel the pain in her gut as he said the words. "What happened?"

"I'm afraid I don't know. Every time a doctor or a patient mentions her, you lash out."

"So Tess…?"

She watched as the man's eyes narrowed. "Tess Mercer has been nearing recovery every couple of months now. But every time she gets significantly close to progress, something happens between the two of you and a fight occurs. You almost killed each other last time."

"What do we disagree on?"

"Everything, anything. Petty things, usually. She tried to be your friend when you were admitted, but you rejected her. If only you would listen to her, Chloe. She would help you."

"Take me back to my room. Now."

"What?" he sputtered "Why?"

"I may not have control of my arms, but I have control of my legs. Take me back to my room, or I swear your family jewels will feel nothing but pain."

"I'll make progress with you, yet." The man said before wheeling her back to her room.

"In your dreams", she spat out.


	4. Chapter 4

Summary: Maxwell Lord makes Chloe believe that the entirety of her life is a delusion.  
Time-line: Shortly after Hostage, but prior to Salvation

Basis of the fic: "We're not crazy." (Quote by Chloe Sullivan in Labyrinth)

Chapter Four

She never thought that life could be this perfect. This happy.

Two weeks had passed, but she found herself integrating with the other patients. She liked building blocks with Cassandra; an old woman who she believed could see the future.

She slowly found herself becoming friends with Adam Knight again. It was almost as if she had revisited high school, before she found drugs in his apartment.

He was constantly hitting on her: he knew it, she knew it, but she didn't do anything. She couldn't- there was something wrong with the idea of being with him. She had no idea what it was, but every time the idea of her and Adam popped into her head, the voices came back.

They told her to stop, that everybody was lying to her. She discussed it with Dr. Richards, but he simply told her that she was making great progress, and that if she just continued to avoid the voices, then everything would okay.

They swarmed her whenever they came. Bart would scream at her, Dinah would be condescending towards her, and Victor would be disappointed. But it was AC who pissed her off most of all. He blatantly insulted her intelligence and mocked her.

The voices in her head didn't match the personalities of the people she knew. And she was well aware of it.

Adam kept trying to get closer, but Tess avoided her. There was a sense of truth to her, Chloe knew it. The interns called her silly- they said that everyone at the hospital was a family. But if that was the case, then why did Tess reschedule her group therapy so that she wouldn't be with her?

Chloe was talking to Adam when she saw Tess walking past her. She quickly abandoned Adam and called out her name. "Tess!"

The woman turned her head and kept walking. "Tess", she repeated, with no response.

She ran over to her, and stopped her. "What's your problem?"

"You're falling for all of it. I knew it. You're weak and pathetic. Probably always have been."

Chloe froze. "Falling for what?"

"The Red Queen. She hired an agent to get into both of our heads, and find out what we know. They want us to think that we're crazy, and you're just letting them!" Tess hissed

"The delusions…" she trailed off

"They're injecting us with serums depending on our own stories. Manipulating us and making us think that our own lives aren't real."

That's when she realized- Tess had all of the answers. It was never Dr. Richards. Tess knew the reality, but why was she still here?

"Lionel Luthor. How did he die?" she asked

"Lionel? Why are you concerned with Lionel?"

"Tess, I need to know. Please", she said desperately.

"You know the answer to that, Chloe. Lex killed him."

"Veritas."

Tess nodded.

"If you know the truth, then why are you here?"

"You know the answer to that", Tess said before smiling mysteriously and walking away.


	5. Chapter 5

Summary: Maxwell Lord makes Chloe believe that the entirety of her life is a delusion.  
Time-line: Shortly after Hostage, but prior to Salvation

Basis of the fic: "We're not crazy." (Quote by Chloe Sullivan in Labyrinth)

Chapter Five

"You already know the answer to that."

What in the world was she talking about? She honestly didn't know the answer to that question. Why was Tess here, and why couldn't she escape? It wasn't because of the missing front door. There was a deeper reason. She just had to figure out what it was.

Chloe was staring out of the window, trying to find some answers in the view below. There was a small gate secluding the institution from the rest of the world, but she could see people walking back and forth. The people gave her a sense of calm, a sense of peace.

But there was still something wrong with all of it. She just couldn't put her finger on it.

It took her three hours of staring out the window before she figured it out- it was calculated, all of it. Every 3 minutes, someone walked past the hospital. The cars that drove outside drove in the same color pattern. Everything was the same.

There was no excitement in this world, nothing different. Nothing unique.

And that was when she saw it- a blond haired man running through the city. It was…chaotic in comparison to the rest of the area. It was different.

She recognized the way the man ran. She recognized that leather jacket. It was Oliver.

She ran away from all of the people. Ran right up to the door that hadn't been there before, and saw Tess smiling to herself as the door opened for her.

She ran out to the gate, her eye on Oliver the entire time. She hoped that the gate wouldn't electrocute her the moment she touched it.

She started to climb the gate, and jumped off the top. Her landing was poor, but that was just how it went. She only had 2 minutes to make it past the point. The man walking past every three minutes was some form of security for the hospital, she knew it.

She made it past the man's walking area and followed Oliver. She couldn't see his face, but she knew that it was him.

"Oliver!" she called out

There was no response. Not even a glance behind him. There was a chance that this wasn't Oliver, a chance that Tess was wrong. But Chloe was willing to take that chance because she knew the truth.

She knew that the chaotic parts of this world were the ones worth fighting for. And she realized that the strings that came with a relationship were the ones that were worth it.

She wanted the strings with Oliver- the insecurities, the fights, the presents, the tears, she wanted them all. Because that meant that the relationship was real. It meant that what they had was filled with substance.

The strings meant that she was giving a part of her life to him. He had already given a part of his life to her.

She kept running as he passed a corner. "Ollie, please stop running away from me." She called out

But he didn't. He kept running, and she watched as he crossed the road.

And then he was gone. Chloe was stuck in the middle of the street, looking for him. She couldn't lose him now. She just found him.

Where did he go?

She heard the sound of a horn blaring right before the limo hit her.


	6. Chapter 6

Summary: Maxwell Lord makes Chloe believe that the entirety of her life is a delusion.  
Time-line: Shortly after Hostage, but prior to Salvation

Basis of the fic: "We're not crazy." (Quote by Chloe Sullivan in Labyrinth)

Chapter Six

"Chloe?"

She gasped for breath as she sprang up.

"Whoa, easy there", Oliver told her.

She blinked twice. Oliver.

"Ollie?" she whispered

"I'm right here."

She had to be sure that it was him. Had to be sure that she wasn't actually going crazy.

She launched herself at him with her lips. She had forgotten about the surgery on his chest, and that she should have been more careful. She didn't care about Watchtower's database, or the fact that the world was going to end at any given moment. She didn't care about the hospital that she believed that she was in, or the fact that in her mind, she now owed Tess Mercer.

Chloe just had to make sure that everything was real. And it was. He proved it to her by responding to her kiss in kind, wrapping his arms around her even tighter as he deepened the kiss.

He quite literally, took her breath away. To the degree that she had to pull back because she was starting to feel light-headed.

He moved to stand up, maybe to get her something. But she reached out for his arm and stopped him. She had to say the words now, before something happened and it was too late. She almost lost him, almost lost herself.

He shot her a questioning look. "I love you", she breathed. "You don't have to say it back", she explained. "I just…"

"Shh", he cut her off. "Chloe, you fainted and someone teleported into this room. You disappeared, and I was completely helpless. Impulse couldn't find you anywhere on the globe, and Victor couldn't locate you. It was Checkmate all over again."

"I was Red Queen-ed", she explained, remembering Tess' words.

"All I knew was that if I couldn't find you, I didn't know what I was going to do with myself. I love you, Chloe." He finished

"I love you", she repeated. "And I want the strings. All of them."

"Should I go to the craft store?" he asked, chuckling

"It doesn't matter. You and me, that's what matters", she told him. "Kandorians, the press, the Team, the Red Queen, what we do, who we are", she rattled off excuse after excuse. "They don't matter."

"I know", he said before getting up. "You know, I think that Red Queen might be on our side after all, due to the recent clarity. But maybe I should call Impulse and Cyborg, call off the search."

He held out a hand so that he could pull her up. And she accepted it. With it, she accepted all of him, and all of herself.

Because as long as she had him? Her reality was better than any figment of her imagination.


End file.
